Poetry Blog Tour

Poetry Blog Tour

 

I have been asked by Gill McEvoy, author of the poetry collections ‘The Plucking Shed’ and ‘Rise’ (both published by Cinnamon Press) to take part in the Poetry Blog Tour by responding to these questions:

 

What are you working on right now?

 

Since ‘All the Invisibles’ (SPM Publications) was published in November 2012 I have been building up my folders of new poems and publications. I am waiting for confirmation from Pighog Press that they will publish a pamphlet of my work at the end of this year or the beginning of next.

 

I am also busy working as Poetry Editor for Sentinel Poetry Quarterly, reading submissions from many different countries and enjoying the varied styles. In the summer I am acting as one of the judges for a Poetry Collection Competition organised by Earlyworks Press and will be the editor of the winning book.

 

How does your work differ from others in the genre?

 

Difficult to answer from one’s own subjective angle. Friends tell me that my style reminds them of some American poetry in that I like writing in long lines with lots of ellipses and ‘leaps’ and that my poetry tends to be about ideas and concepts rather than anything more personal or descriptive.

 

Why do I write what I write?

 

I think I have a strong sense of Place and so the setting of a poem or story is important to me and is often my starting point. I also love history, literature and myth and so aspects of these frequently creep into my writing.

 

I enjoy finding strong, original images that, hopefully, will bring in associations for the reader as well.

 

Sometimes I try and write a ‘political’ poem, one that will say something relevant about the world we live in. This is difficult to do because I prefer to come at things slantwise and not spell things out or sound judgmental.

 

How does your writing process work?

 

I try and write something most days, even if it’s just editing a piece of work in progress. I prefer the mornings, being an early bird, rather than later in the day.

 

I keep notebooks of quotations, references, articles, ideas, overheard remarks, pictures etc etc and I refer to these a lot when I need to find a starting point or image. I like writing in pencil on plain paper for early drafts which are usually full of scribbles and crossings out but then I need to see what the lines and line endings look like on the computer and do most of my editing there.

 

I try to spend as much time as I can reading as well as writing – usually poetry books or books about writing. I try to keep as up to date as much as possible with contemporary, international poetry.

 

 

 

Thank you, Gill, for inviting me to take part in this Poetry Blog Tour. I’ll pass the mantle on to poet, novelist and artist Susan Skinner.